Neurodiversity in accounting: Embracing inclusive workplaces

So I think embracing neurodiversity is going to be such a huge opportunity for all organisations in the years ahead, and that's really important because we know that this isn't just a moral imperative — it's actually important because neurodivergent employees will bring truly unique skills and capabilities to work. So there's a real business imperative too.

There's a big responsibility on everyone, but particularly leaders within organisations, and it's really about creating the right environments — the right organisational culture — to enable that to happen.

My advice would be: embrace the spectrum. By recognising and supporting neurodiversity in your organisation, you can unlock a wealth of talent that's often overlooked or underutilised. Neurodivergent employees often bring unique strengths to the table, such as exceptional attention to detail, innovative thinking, and problem-solving abilities. We are not all in the 80% of neurotypical employees or customers, so consider this a call to action.

An inclusive culture is not just buzzwords — it's a fundamental aspect of a flourishing organisation. It's about giving people the opportunity to achieve what they should be able to achieve, to thrive, and it leads to greater comfort and belonging.

Think about what you can do to educate on the topic, create a workspace that accommodates diverse needs, encourage different ways of working, invest in employee development, adjust processes to remove barriers to entry, and ensure pathways for career development.

It doesn't just relate to neurodiversity — a diverse team can better represent the diverse points of view of your customers.

I'm just going to talk about how I overcame fears with work and my dyslexia. Um, it was kind of really tough, it was hard — you know, your brain works in so many different ways to what people are used to, so it's trying to communicate that in a way that people understand.

Sometimes you can be sitting in a room, and there can be a room full of heads of department or lots of different people from different nationalities, and just being able to communicate — I think that was the biggest struggle that I did find with dyslexia. I overcame that by literally just bringing people on board, bringing different people on board with their different diversities, and just getting to understand how I could better communicate myself.

So I think my advice — um, it took me a long time to build up the courage to even admit that I was dyslexic. So I think for other people out there studying, if you can, you know, just go and seek help. First, take away the tag, the embarrassment — there are lots of different websites and help and communication. Just go out there and find it and get it, and it doesn't matter what age. I think sometimes younger generations are more geared up towards that, but, you know, I wasn't diagnosed until 2021 — a long time ago.

So just go out there and get some help. I did, and within 18 months I was qualified. Best thing I ever did.